Water
TecopaCabana: Year in Review 2025
Dear TecopaCabana readers, As we close out our first year of reporting, I keep coming back to the same thought: in a place as small and far-flung as the Amargosa Basin, the stories that matter most are rarely the ones that travel far. They are the ones that change how we understand our own roads,…
Tecopa’s Endangered Voles Tell a Water Story Written in DNA
A University of California research team found in 2016 that Tecopa’s California vole—Microtus californicus scirpensis—is one of the most genetically unique animals in the Mojave Desert, and that its survival depends on something deceptively simple: keeping local springs wet. The study, conducted by biologists from UC Berkeley and other institutions, used DNA samples to map how voles…
Riparian Forests Along the Amargosa River Show Signs of Climate-Driven Collapse, UNLV Study Finds
A doctoral dissertation out of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas reports clear evidence that the riparian woodlands along the Amargosa River—spanning Ash Meadows, Shoshone, and Tecopa—are undergoing significant climate-driven decline. In her 2024 Ph.D. dissertation “Effects of Climate Change on (Semi)-Arid Ecosystems in the Southwestern United States,” researcher Charlotte van der Nagel analyzed three decades of vegetation and…
How the Desert Was Fed: Tecopa’s Farming Roots in the Mining Frontier
In the late 19th century, when settlers first began to cultivate the Amargosa Basin and the valleys surrounding Tecopa, they were not starting from scratch. The land had already been studied, shaped, and survived by the Southern Paiute and Mojave peoples for centuries. As historian Sherryl Lynn Weber documented in her 1995 University of Nevada, Las Vegas…
Grimshaw Lake: A Desert Landmark Rooted in Local History
At the edge of the Amargosa Basin, where the Mojave Desert blurs into Death Valley’s outer reaches, a small, spring-fed wetland carries the name of one of Tecopa’s mid-20th century settlers. Grimshaw Lake, barely still there, represents the way individuals leave their mark on a place — sometimes through enterprise, sometimes through accident, and often…
Three Decades Later, Unofficial Water Test Used in Official County Process
A water quality report from 1995 is being used by Inyo County officials in 2025 as supporting documentation in their search for a new operator for Tecopa Hot Springs County Park — even though the report was never commissioned by the county. The decades-old analysis was conducted by J. Edward Guilmette, an environmental consultant who…
Hot Springs Etiquette in Tecopa: How Nudity and Showering First Protects the Amargosa River
Hot springs have long been revered for their therapeutic and spiritual benefits, from Japan’s ancient onsen culture to Iceland’s steamy geothermal lagoons. These natural baths provide relaxation, healing, and a connection to the earth’s mineral-rich waters. Yet, despite their tranquil allure, many newcomers overlook an essential etiquette rule: showering before soaking. In Tecopa, California—home to…
Failure to Protect: The Amargosa Wild and Scenic River and the Neglect of a Desert Ecosystem
The Amargosa Valley, a rugged and starkly beautiful desert straddling the California-Nevada border, is a region of historical significance and ecological fragility. Home to the rare Amargosa vole and the unique hydrology of the Amargosa River, this area has long been a focal point for conservation efforts. Despite its designation as a Wild and Scenic…